An ongoing challenge involving the consumption of over 350 Filet-O-Fish burgers by China-born, UK-based artist Junhao Wu. 4 years in the past, whereas a lot of the world was nonetheless underneath pandemic restrictions, Wu was finding out Modern Pictures Practices and Philosophies at Central Saint Martins in London. Throughout the lockdowns Wu imagined the day he may stroll right into a McDonald’s freely because the mark of a return to normalcy. On that day he ordered a Filet-O-Fish at random. Struck by the smoothness of the bun, he took a photograph. Since then Wu has visited greater than 150 McDonald’s eating places, primarily within the UK and China. He all the time orders the Filet-O-Fish and all the time takes a photograph from a hard and fast, top-down angle and uploads it to the Chinese language social platoform Rednote (Xiaohongshu). As a pupil the selection was pushed just by economics and nostalgia. Born in a communist revolutionary city in southern China, McDonald’s was a part of blissful childhood recollections. Wu may recall consuming McDonald’s as a particular occasion he may brag about to pals at college:
“As a toddler, after all, I didn’t know why that counted as a bragging rights. Perhaps I get the reply now: we don’t actually need the expertise of consuming McDonald’s or the burgers themselves, however we need what others need (which will be formed by public media). Once I grew older, I dreamed of leaving my hometown, hoping that in the future I can dwell in a metropolis and eat McDonald’s day by day…. It wasn’t till later that I lastly realised consuming a McDonald’s meal in a capital metropolis and having a bowl of stir-fried noodles in my hometown are literally the identical unusual life expertise. So, what precisely was the “higher life” that I used to be consistently chasing?”
When Wu’s social media posts began to achieve traction—and different individuals began to love and share the “clean” and “good” bun development together with McDonald’s China joined in—Wu turn out to be uncomfortable. He was even provided a place in public relations with McDonald’s headquarters in China, which he declined. On the finish of the day, Wu sees himself as “only a individual leveraging social platforms (a tool for images), borrowing the worldwide affect of McDonald’s to unfold a extra private mode of remark and storytelling.”
Junhao Wu participated in our 2025 Booooooom Artwork & Picture E book Award and made our shortlist. Click on here to take a look at all of our present and upcoming open calls!
